New York Hospital Queens Delivers First New Yorker Born in 2009

Flushing, New York - Nine minutes after the ball dropped in Times Square to mark the start of 2009, baby girl Grace Pak entered the world at New York Hospital Queens. She was the first baby born in New York City on January 1, 2009.

This is the second consecutive year that New York Hospital Queens had the first baby of the New Year for New York City. Last year at 12 a.m. on the dot, a baby girl was born at New York Hospital Queens.

This year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the hospital at 11 a.m. to congratulate the family and told them that their baby may grow up to be the Mayor someday. One minute after Grace was born, another baby was born at a hospital a mile away.

Diplomatically, the Mayor made a proclamation as to who was the first baby. “Under the New York City charter, the Mayor certifies as the authority to do that,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Both babies were born at exactly the same time.”

This year’s New Years baby, Grace, is the fourth child born to Sunyoung Lee (mother) and Kyoung Pak (father), and is their first daughter. The Pak Family resides in Bayside, Queens. At birth, the baby weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 20 inches in length. The obstetrician who delivered her was Seth Finkelstein, M.D., attending physician.

Among the first gifts baby Grace and her family received from the hospital were a $1,000 savings bond and a baby-themed floral basket.

First New Year's Baby of NYC, Grace Pak

This year’s New Years baby, Grace, is the fourth child born to Sunyoung Lee (mother) and Kyoung Pak (father), and is their first daughter